COMMUNITY leaders in Carlisle have clashed over the levelling-up agenda, which was released by the Government earlier this week.

On Wednesday, the Government unveiled its long-promised 'levelling up' plan to improve opportunities across the country.

The plan was a key pledge in the Conservative’s 2019 Election Manifesto, and it aimed to address people and communities who feel they have been left behind, giving them a chance to 'catch up'.

The strategy, unveiled by Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove, aims to improve services such as education, broadband and transport.

The plans have been welcomed by some within the county, who hailed the release of the white paper as ‘a significant moment’.

The Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership were ‘delighted’ with the strategy. Chairman Lord Inglewood said: “The White Paper marks a significant moment for LEPs across England as it formally embeds them in the policy agenda.

"It is a clear affirmation of the role LEPs have played in regional economic growth and builds on recent achievements.

“I am delighted that all the hard work that we have carried out in Cumbria in sustaining and increasing local economic growth through the pandemic and supporting businesses, reflected I’m sure by other LEPs elsewhere, has been recognised by Government.

“We look forward to continuing to deliver on behalf of our communities and I’m sure we will welcome the opportunity to adapt and evolve in line with emerging requirements as the Levelling Up agenda progresses.”

Carlisle MP John Stevenson also welcomed the plans from his party and had much praise for what the Government has already done to improve Carlisle.

He said: “I welcome this, this was a manifesto commitment in 2019, we have had the pandemic which has obviously affected the Government's ability to get on and implement policy, we are now doing that and I think this is an exciting time, and an exciting time for the city of Carlisle.

“Levelling up didn’t just start now. It was recognised by George Osborne in 2014 when he brought forward the Northern Powerhouse idea and then there has been various growth deals such as the Borderlands which we had, so levelling up is building upon policies which always existed.

“I think levelling up is about two things. It’s about improving people’s lives and closing the prosperity gap... in a positive way.

“I would contend that Carlisle is already experiencing this agenda, we have seen the Town’s fund and the High Street’s fund which is £30million, the refurbishment of the railway station which is £25million, the university moving to the Citadels that’s £75million, a garden village, a ring road... so a lot is already happening - but the real prize is not just public sector investment but private sector investment.”

However, Labour have criticised the Conservatives' key manifesto pledge, saying that the plans involve spending no new money and little new thinking.

Leader of the Labour Group on Carlisle City Council, Les Tickner said that he welcomes extra investment into the city however believes it does not do enough to bring the country ‘level’ in terms of prosperity.

He said: ”I welcome any additional investment in the City that will secure well paid jobs and opportunities for everyone. The proposal to increase the National Living Wage to £8.91 an hour for workers over-23 is a step in the right direction.

“However freezing public sector pay with inflation running at 6 percent is effectively a real terms pay cut and a kick in the teeth for the key workers we have all relied on through covid to keep our vital front line services operating.

The councillor also said that it was ‘shameful’ to have an ambition for a 50 percent fall in the number of rented homes deemed non-decent as part of levelling-up.

Mr Tickner said: “I find it shameful that part of the levelling up agenda is an 'ambition' for a 50 percent fall in the number of rented homes deemed non-decent.

“Nobody should be expected to live in any rented accommodation that is deemed non-decent. That is why the Labour Group in Carlisle want to see the resurgence of high quality council houses being built on Council-owned land as a priority."

The councillor also said that the agenda may end up making some areas ‘more level than others’.

“As a former director of Tullie House I would be happy to see Carlisle’s bid to develop the cultural offer being supported by central government.

“Looking at the national picture I haven’t had time to fully analyse the levelling-up allocations but my initial reading of it suggests that some parts of the country will become more level than others.

“Some areas with high deprivation like Knowsley for example will receive £0 per head, yet some wealthy areas like Bromsgrove will receive £148 per head.

“I would like to see the criteria behind the allocation as it doesn’t seem equitable, fair or rational to me,” Councillor Tickner said.

He also called for ‘more urgent ‘support from the government after Covid, saying: “At a time when the most vulnerable will face rises in household living costs not seen for decades the government needs to focus on immediate support to get them through the crisis."

Labour Leader of the County Council Stewart Young branded the strategy released on Wednesday as ‘a great disappointment.'

He said: “There is no new money announced, they seem to be re-badging everything as though it was part of levelling-up, in some cases they have re-announced funding that was already announced such as the funding for brown-field regeneration which the Chancellor announced last Autumn.

“There is no substance to it at all, I think the worry for Cumbria is that they have finally conceded that areas can do devolution deals with a county council and their districts - these so called ‘county deals’ - with or without an elected mayor at the same time they are abolishing the County Council, so we are going to miss out on a devolution deal which is really frustrating.”

“So, there was the usual spin around it, but I’m afraid it was lacking in substance.

"The key issue is the Treasury clearly didn’t want to put any resources into it and without that levelling up becomes quite meaningless really.”